Gender Politics

Five Girl-Power Books Exactly Like Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’

The Facebook COO wasn’t the first to arm working women with catchy mantras and baffling metaphors for taking over the boardroom. Sean Macaulay teases out the familiar tropes of the girl-power genre.

Modern feminists are finally having their Arab Spring, thanks to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Her Lean In “revolution” is sweeping through the chattering classes, and the old guard of sexist male business leaders must be feeling about as secure as a gold statue of Colonel Gaddafi.

Sandberg’s book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, is already onto its eighth printing and being published in 20 more countries. To name just a few, it’s making its entrance as En Avant Toutes (Forward All), Facciamoci Avanti (Step Forward), and Faça Acontecer (Make It Happen).

Not bad for a phrase most men still don’t understand. (It’s something to do with sitting closer to the boardroom and getting more involved, right?) But then, this is the new “corporate casual” model of female empowerment: high tech but organic, elitist but caring, touchy-feely yet ruthlessly driven. In the language of Silicon Valley, it’s Feminism OS X Lioness.

There has been some backlash—mostly from other women, interestingly. But perhaps this indicates there is a deeper divide among office workers than gender prejudice. Namely, the gap between hard-charging super-ambitious overachievers who love getting up at 5 a.m. to manage 2,500 khaki-clad software engineers and, um, the rest of us.

It may feel like trickle-down self-help. But even the Taliban would be proud of the statistics for women in American boardrooms. Of all Forbes 500 companies, only 3.8 percent are run by women. For the average liberal male, it’s all very confusing. Who wouldn’t want more women bosses? They’re cleverer than us, better educated, and less likely to be bullies. I’ve had more women bosses than men in my career and never thought twice about it. The Forbes 500 boys’ club has remained conspicuously silent on the issue for now. Maybe they think this latest flurry of female agita, however upscale and stylish, will peter out like the old bra-burning antics of legacy feminism.

Good luck with that plan. In the self-help section at BarnesandNoble.com, “Women in the Workplace” is a stand-alone category booming with a 1,194 titles. (A “Men at Home” section can’t be far behind.) Male corporate America would be well advised to put aside their copies of Sun Tzu and The Art of the Deal and study our guide to corporate handbooks for women.

In a Nutshell
The women’s revolution has stalled. It’s time to be outspoken, aggressive, and more powerful than men.

Metaphor Overdrive
• “It’s a jungle gym, not a ladder.”
• “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on.”
• “Outsiders observers reminding us that we must be struggling—and failing—is just bitter icing on an already soggy cake.”

Feminine Version of Macho Swagger
“My pregnancy was not easy ... One day, after a rough morning spent staring at the bottom of the toilet, I had to rush to make an important client meeting.”

Unique Tool
Lean In Circles, a.k.a. “small peer groups that meet in person for ongoing encouragement.” Like something out of Sex and the City, except you pass around career tips instead of a Rabbit.

In a Nutshell
The right stuff for women compiled by McKinsey’s finest.

Metaphor Overdrive
• “The glue that holds ...” “The tapestry you weave ...”
• “Your leardership journey is a marathon with challenging hills and long stretches.”
• “I had hiked off the main trail and onto a goat path. Ah, but don’t I always choose that rocky and steep path!”

Feminine Version of Macho Swagger
“The bully I fear the most ... is me.”

Feminine Version of Macho Swagger
Back in the day, she drank Scotch mists at lunch. A journalist asked, “How is that smoking, drinking, and sexing from the Mad Men era working today?” Beers replied, “Well, there’s a lot less smoking.”

Unique Tool
The word “leaderly,” as in “women have to cross the threshold from ‘womanly’ to ‘leaderly.’”

In a Nutshell
Actually, a lot of nutshells. Freston is a vegan advocate.

Metaphor Overdrive
None to speak of. She does keep it simple with lots of exclamation marks. “So there go, Day 1! Just drink you water—at least 8 ounces, 8 times a day, before you drink or eat your regular fare. And that’s all!”

Feminine Version of Macho Swagger
None. She is a former model and loves cute animals.